It had earlier been discovered that when tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and perfluoro(alkyl vinyl ethers) (FAVE) are copolymerized in the presence of organic halocarbon solvents certain properties of the resulting copolymer are enhanced when alcohols, such as methanol, are added to the reaction mixture. The properties enhanced include reduced die swell on extrusion and improved flex life. The advantages of using such alcohols are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,742.
The alcohol acts as a chain transfer agent, i.e., it stops chain propagation by reacting with free radical end groups of the growing polymer chain. This reaction of alcohol with free radical ends results in a polymer that has carbinol, i.e., --CH.sub.2 OH, end groups. While these carbinol groups are relatively stable, it has been found that TFE/FAVE copolymers sometimes need to be annealed, i.e., heated to high temperatures after molding into molded articles, in order to impart good dimensional stability to the molded articles. However, the high temperatures used during annealing in an ambient atmosphere cause the carbinol, --CH.sub.2 OH, end groups to decompose to acid fluoride, --COF, groups. These acid fluoride end groups then hydrolyze to carboxyl, --COOH, groups with evolution of hydrogen fluoride (HF). HF is a reactive, corrosive acid and its presence causes difficulties in moled articles derived from TFE/FAVE copolymers that contain the original --CH.sub.2 OH end groups. In addition, the --COOH groups degrade on fabrication of the polymer to produce gases (CO.sub.2) that produce undesirable bubbles in molded articles.
The raw polymer, as made, contains some --COF and --COOH end-groups and these decompose also, along with the --COF and --COOH groups formed from decomposition of the --CH.sub.2 OH end-groups.